El Rancho starting pitcher Kat Flores (6-3) and reliever Jaime Ramirez, both right- handers, teamed up to quiet the Santa Fe bats. They struck out only two batters but consistently induced Santa Fe’s hitters to ground out (11 times) or pop up in the infield (three times). Four times they retired the side in order, including eight in a row during one stretch.

“We were pretty sloppy offensively,” El Rancho coach Daisy Flores said. “The defense kept us in the game, both in the pitching circle and on the field. On offense we had too many left on base (11) and weren’t able to execute.”

The Dons (13-4, 2-1) scored a pair of runs in each of the first two innings, and that proved to be enough.

With one out in the first, Bri Ramos was walked by Santa Fe starter Alyssa Segobia (5-4). Ramos moved up on Alex Barcenas’ single – which boosted her .473 average – and Ramos and Barcenas scored when Ramirez followed with a single to right. A passed ball had put them in scoring position.

In the second inning, Jen Cordova singled to center with one out and moved to second on a high infield chopper by Marissa Rivas that went for a hit. A wild pitch, another passed ball and an error on the Chiefs’ catcher scored two more runs.

The Dons added an insurance run in the fifth when Sam Alvarez drove in Aiyanna Leal-Reyes who led off the inning with a single to left.

The Chiefs (9-7, 2-1) scored two two runs in the fourth on a double by Elena Gallego, a single by Myranda Bueno and another double by Brittany Gonzalez, who came on in relief of Segobia. Gonzalez was thrown out at third, trying to stretch it into a triple.

“I knew my defense was there to back me up, so I kept pitching the way I had to,” Flores said.

Santa Fe mounted a brief rally in the last inning against Ramirez. With two outs, Gonzalez drew Santa Fe’s only walk in the game and scored when pinch-hitter Carly Gutierrez doubled to right field.

“We played the way we practiced, and that wasn’t good,” Santa Fe coach Randi Berg said. “We had a lot of kinks and wrinkles we didn’t fix.

“El Rancho is a good team. Their pitchers were hitting their spots and their defense played well behind them.”

Berg argued a call at second base when Flores laid down a sacrifice bunt. Gonzalez fielded the ball cleanly and threw to second for the forceout on Leal-Reyes, who was called safe. “That play killed our momentum,” Berg said.

Barcenas led El Rancho’s attack with a pair of hits, both singles, and Ramirez had a pair of RBIs. Gonzalez was 2for 2 for the Chiefs and had one RBI.